St John volunteers ready for Cheltenham Festival

One of the biggest events on the
Gloucestershire calendar has come about once more and St John
Ambulance volunteers are gearing up to be there.
Some of the best jump racing in the world happens each March at the
Cheltenham racecourse when the Gold Cup comes to town.

Over the course of the week from 11-17 March the best jockeys
compete in 25 races over the course of these
action packed 4 days. This hugely popular community event attracts
more than 200,000 visitors each year – including
many international racing enthusiasts.

We are never short of volunteers to staff the first aid points and ambulances at the festival as there is a great atmosphere and it is a really fun duty to cover.

Andy Cumming

Operations Manager for St John Gloucestershire

New this year will be an additional ambulance on the course to
provide first aid cover to the members of the public who watch from
the course on the inside of the track.

'We plan our presence carefully so we can offer a quick
response to any incident, anywhere on the racecourse –
whether that's an injured jockey or racing fan,' said Andy Cumming,
Operations Manager for St John Ambulance Gloucestershire.

'The additional ambulance will help us to spread our teams
evenly across the ground and the cycle responders are very useful
members of the team because they can get promptly to areas where
perhaps a land ambulance could not reach because of the
crowds.'

In 2004 St John Ambulance volunteers treated a whopping
982 casualties for everything from cuts and bruises to
cardiac arrest. In the years since then several hundred more race
day fans have been treated by St John first aiders and trained
emergency response volunteers.

As the population of the community inflates so drastically, St
John Ambulance's assistance to Great Western Ambulance Services is
vital for making events like this happen.

For more information on the Cheltenham Gold Cup
visit the official race page at http://www.cheltenham.co.uk/default.html
And for more on St John Gloucestershire and their role in this
great event contact Heather Ferneyhough by email
or at 01452 858224.